1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the display of information on display screens. More particularly, the present invention relates to techniques for playing back video data in a manner that both fast forwarding and rewinding are not linearly performed, a user may start from any point of the view by dragging a starting point in a track bar. In addition, the present invention also relates to techniques for search a video library including many titles by genre.
2. Description of the Related Art
Both VCR and DVD players are equipped with functions for fast forwarding and rewinding. The functions for fast forwarding and rewinding are to allow viewers to simply start from a preferable point. However, a VCR player performs the functions slowly because of the limitation in reading the magnetic tapes and the fact that tapes can only be scanned sequentially. A DVD player allows a user to set up a speed (e.g., 2×, 4×, 8× and 20×) for performing fast forwarding and rewinding. In either case, a user has to be patient enough to go through portions of the video that otherwise should be skipped before reaching a desired point.
DVD players also come as software applications that typically run in a computing device with a display screen and a DVD drive. FIG. 1 shows an example of a DVD player playing back a movie. As labeled in the figure, “Eject” button is used to eject a DVD. “Rewind” is provided to rewind a DVD. When “Rewind” button is pressed, a user sees that the movie is played back in reverse at a predefined speed (e.g., 2×, 4×, 8×, or 20×). “Fast Forward” is provided to fast forward through a DVD. When “Fast Forward” button is pressed, a user sees that the movie is played back at a predefined speed (e.g., 2×, 4×, 8×, or 20×). “Stop” is provided to stop a DVD while “Play” is to play a DVD and wait for the movie from the DVD to be loaded. “Pause” is provided to pause a DVD in playback mode. In either case of “Rewind” and “Fast Forward”, a user has to be patient enough to go through those that otherwise should be skipped before reaching to a desired point.
In many cases, viewers prefer to quickly jump to desired points of a movie title to examine or enjoy sections of the movie. Accordingly there is a need for a mechanism that facilitates such a nonlinear playback of a movie title. Likewise, when there is a huge library of movies, there is also a need for an interface that facilitates a fast search of a desired title.